


Fragmentation

by timahina



Series: ZarcRay Week 2018 [5]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M, Psychological, Stockholm Syndrome, ZarcRay Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 10:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14055126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: He just wanted her to accept the truth and reality of who exactly they were.





	Fragmentation

“Ray… _sweet_ Ray.” He whispered into her ear, pressing soft kisses against her earlobe and trailing down the side of her neck. He was being soft and gentle again, like a lover.

A pleading sob came out, she couldn’t take the sweetness. “Please let me go.” She tried to squirm away, the chains at the wrists digging into her skin. They were sore and chafed, with dried blood around the edges from her wrists. It didn’t escape his notice. At hearing the chains rattle, his attention was drawn away and his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

It confused her - how _genuine_ his worry could appear in his eyes. For some time now, ‘worry’ and ‘compassion’ was not something he used toward her. “Ray, sweetheart… I warned you about this.”

“...it’s why I want you to let me go. Please, it really hurts…” There wasn’t as much fight in her voice as she wanted. Most of that had ebbed away by this point.

He sighed, getting up. “I’ll clean you up, just wait here a moment.”

There was no choice but to stay where she was at - her arms bound to the wall. It was almost a cruel joke to her, but he had said it in the most earnest. She watched him leave her and for the first time in who knows how long, she wasn’t trying to rattle the chains away and praying they’d break. They weren’t rusted enough to give way.

Instead, she laid there in silence and listened to the water drop down drip by drip, counting them. It was better to sit there and wait for him to return and take care of her and think of something clever to escape or fight another day. It was getting so tiring… all she wanted was for things to return to normal. She heard the steps creak and he appeared before her with a wet cloth and a first aid kit.

“Now Ray, I’m gonna let your arms free. Do you _promise_ not to run again?” His voice was so sincere - it always was.

She nodded. “I promise, honey.” The pet name caused a smile to appear and his eyes were staring with a soft gaze. She would almost find him handsome in a different light.

He leaned in, giving her a chaste kiss before speaking to her again. “I’ll hold you to that, sweetheart.” He said, taking out a set of keys and leaning over her to untie her wrists. The chains were removed and immediately, her hands dropped down and she practically fell against his chest. A firm kiss at the top of her head and chuckled. “Aren’t we being nice tonight?”

Her heart raced - was he criticizing her? Did he want her to fight? “... didn’t you want me to be nice?” _No,_ she thought. She was certain he wanted her to be like this, docile and quiet and obedient. That wasn’t what he liked about her before though – what did he want?

“Don’t worry – it’s a good thing. I want us to be nice, Ray.” His hands were so gentle, taking a cloth and some rubbing alcohol. “I don’t want to hurt ya but this is gonna sting.” He pressed the wet cloth to her skin and she winced, trying to pull her arm back but his grip on her was so strong and she was too tired to pull the strength deep down and fight him again. He was caring for her.

Wasn’t this better?

“… I’m always nice though.”

She had to try and go back to before. They used to good to each other. Things used to be simple. She missed simple. But of course, that was before they remembered who they were. Before she changed her hair and put on the contacts and styled herself differently. Before he started acting differently. Before she got tired of being someone she wasn’t.

“You haven’t been nice lately, Ray. You know that.” He huffed, his eyes almost looked sullen.

There was no reason for him to look as though he was the one who had been betrayed. “I have been _way_ more accommodating of this than I should’ve been!” Her bite was coming back, her fury and confidence and a tiny bit of hope that was desperation in disguise. It was hard putting up with this for a moment longer. She tried to yank her hand back. “Now listen to me! This isn’t you, Yu-!”

“Zarc.” He interrupted her, his voice stern and his eyes more than angry. “You’re supposed to call me Zarc.”

“You’re not Zarc!” She freed her hands from his grip and grabbed onto his shirt, hot tears flowing out of her eyes. It was all so unbearable. “You’re not Zarc! I’m not Ray! We’re not them!”

No matter how much change happened – whether it was the natural way their bodies grew or artificial in terms of dying their hair and styling it a certain way. It wasn’t enough. She couldn’t continue to fool herself but he. No… he bought into it.

He wanted so desperately to redo everything.

“We _are!_ Don’t deny who you are, Ray!”

He had been calling her ‘Ray’ for months now.

Was she always Ray?

No, she was… she was…

“Ray, please.” His voice was soft, pleading even as his fingers gingerly wiped away the tears streaming down her face. This kind of tenderness was so familiar and she had missed it. “I’ll be good to you. Just… just stop hiding. We can be happy. Start over _for real_ , this time. Ya know?”

Those gold eyes… she missed the color they were before.

What were they before? It had been so long.

“Don’t you want to be good to me, Ray?”

She wanted to be. And she was so tired of fighting him and of being chained and hidden away as though she was the one in the wrong. If… if she succumbed and gave in to his wishes, they could be happy again. She could feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin and his hands interlocking again…

“I do… _Zarc_.”

He smiled. And it was so genuine and open – how she missed that and the way his arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. Maybe it would be better if she would just succumb.

 


End file.
